New York, NY --

Production will commence August 12 in Toronto, ON for the 13-episode second season of Syfy’s highly-rated Defiance, featuring new cast addition James Murray as Mayor Pottinger. The most ambitious project in Syfy’s 20-year history, and produced by Universal Cable Productions, season one of Defiance delivered an average of 1.5 million viewers 18-49 and 3.2 million total viewers, ranking as the second-highest Syfy scripted original to date among total viewers based on Live +7 data (behind Warehouse 13 in September 2009). The season one finale on July 8 earned a solid 1.6 million viewers 18-49 and 3.4 million total viewers.

As the story of Defiance resumes, the lives of the townspeople are in drastic turmoil. The Earth Republic has assumed control of the town, with far-reaching consequences including a new mayor. Nolan traverses the badlands to find a lost Irisa, Amanda has an unexpected new role in the town as she searches for Kenya and the Tarr family desperately tries to keep control of their criminal empire in the midst of dramatic changes.

James Murray joins the cast in the integral role of Pottinger, the new mayor of Defiance. Appointed by the Earth Republic, Pottinger is shrewd, polished and charming; he quickly wins the trust of most people he meets. But his civilized veneer hides a ruthless pragmatist who traffics in information and secrets, and mercilessly punishes those who defy him. Pottinger sees people as tools to be exploited or prizes to be won; his latest object of desire is ex-mayor Amanda (Benz). Born in Manchester, England, Murray found initial fame in ITV’s soap opera Coronation Street as Sandy Hunter. He has starred in numerous British film and television pieces including the popular BBC series New Tricks. He also appeared on the NBC series Beautiful People and CBS’s Chaos.

Kevin Murphy (Desperate Housewives, Caprica) resumes his role as executive producer and showrunner. Smallville’s Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin return as executive producers for season two and Michael Taylor serves as consulting producer. Michael Nankin (co-executive producer) is set to direct the season two opener.

Season two of Defiance is set to premiere on Syfy in June 2014. The series is an unprecedented partnership between Syfy and Trion Worlds and the first-ever convergence of television and online gaming, featuring an interconnected world and storylines that co-exist on both platforms.